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Fitzpatrick, McLaughlin Indicted for Rigging Inspections

Media reports this week indicated that former Chelsea Housing Authority (CHA) Director Michael McLaughlin has been indicted with two others regarding the alleged rigging of public housing inspections.

McLaughlin, 67, who is already imprisoned on federal charges regarding his salary and is also facing state charges about campaign finance violations, got word of the new charges on Tuesday.

Along with McLaughlin is former Director of Modernization James Fitzpatrick – who actually retired from the CHA last March with a full pension. Many have said few, if any, improvements were made while Fitzpatrick served with McLaughlin.

He resides in Acton.

The third person, Bernard Morosco, of Utica, NY, was a housing inspector that McLaughlin hired as a consultant. It is alleged that he tipped off Fitzpatrick and McLaughlin to any announced or unannounced inspections that were coming from the federal housing programs.

Fitzpatrick’s full retirement came on March 20.

At a hearing in March, Retirement Board officials said that despite rumors and media reports about Fitzpatrick, they could not hold up his retirement pension request as he was charged with no wrongdoing. However, they did say that if he were convicted of any crime, that granting could be revisited.

He reportedly gets just over $30,000 per year in his retirement.

His average salary for his last three years at retirement was above $90,000.